I’ve found that on the days they’re most aggressive, you’ll catch them higher in the water column. “They like cold water, and they’ll be looking for food all winter. “Lake trout are very active in the winter,” Gussy explains. Prime water depths generally range from 40 to 100 feet, but the fish could be anywhere in the water column. “They like those drop-off areas where they can push baitfish (smelt and ciscoes) up against a ledge,” he says. Look for lakers on the deep side of bluff walls or the steep-and-deep sides of points and submerged humps. Water in this part of the lake is clear, he explains, so it’s best to fish early or late in the day when low-light conditions prevail. “Be aware, though, that the whole of Clearwater Bay (on the north side of Ptarmigan Bay) is closed to winter trout fishing,” he warns, “so be sure to stay within Ptarmigan.” If lakers are on your list, he suggests starting out in Ptarmigan Bay, west of the area’s central section. While walleyes are the primary focus of local hard-water anglers, what draws many visiting ice fishermen is the incredible lake trout and crappie fishing this time of year. “There are some plowed roads, including a 40-mile stretch from Kenora to Monument Bay,” he says, “but during the mid-winter in nine out of 10 years, you’ll need a snow machine because you won’t be able to drive a truck anywhere off the plowed roads.” “In my opinion,” he says, “it’s the best place in the world to fish through the ice for walleyes, crappies, lake trout, and other species.” If you do make the trip, however, he warns that a snowmobile is a “must-have” piece of equipment. Winter fishing on northern Lake of the Woods is world-class, according to Gustafson. He grew up in Kenora and spent a lifetime targeting walleyes, bass, crappies, lake trout, and more on these waters, and says it’s among the best places on the planet for freshwater fishing-year-round.ġ. “The best way to describe this part of Lake of the Woods is that it has more water than you could fish in a lifetime,” says fishing guide, tournament angler, and Team Northland member Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson. Roughly bounded by Kenora, Ontario, to the north, Monument Bay to the west, and across the Aulneau Peninsula to Whitefish Bay in the east, this section of the magnificent lake is peppered with islands, coves, and channels, and is better defined in square miles than expressed in surface acres or shoreline measurements. Some would say that the beautiful and bountiful northern section of Lake of the Woods is the centerpiece of Sunset Country in northwest Ontario.
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